Beautiful Illusions
by TwistedNightshade
Summary: AU: Two vampires both want the same woman.  One promises eternal love.  The other claims to know the truth about her past.  In the end, who will she choose?  What happens when the vampires' own secrets are revealed?  Himeno x ? Possible OC x ?


**DISCLAIMER: The anime/manga series _Pretear_ does not belong to me in any way, shape, or form. Also, I make absolutely no profit from this or any other work of fan fiction or original fiction.**

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**Beautiful Illusions: Chapter One**

It was already very late into the night as a woman walked up and down the empty streets and began searching for a place to stay. Her lilac eyes darted from one direction to the other as she glanced around for somewhere - anywhere - warm to lay her head. She was, as many people were for one personal reason or another, thrown out of her home. Perhaps she had cheated on her husband; worse still, she could have given birth to a child out of wedlock. Whatever the reason, it was between herself and Almighty God.

Though the full moon was glowing in all of its splendor, the frigid autumn winds made the otherwise scenic evening much worse. She had already been starting to feel weak and this certainly wasn't going to help things. As she fumbled with her light-brown hair and her lilac dress, a shadow began to walk towards her. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed the shadow moving ever so closer. It was in no hurry (or so it seemed); yet for some reason, she began to feel afraid, as if something just didn't seem right. She turned her head slightly in the shadow's direction when the shadow spoke:

"Is something troubling you, ma'am?" It was the polite voice of a young man, the woman realized. Being slightly cautious, she said nothing.

"There's nothing to be afraid of," the man replied. "But this night is pretty chilly, don't you agree?"

She continued to remain silent, but she nodded.

"If you're looking for somewhere to stay, you are more than welcome to spend the night with me," he continued. "After all, it wouldn't be right for me to leave someone as beautiful as you all alone in this weather."

By this time, the shadow was standing under a streetlamp, the light flickering every now and then. It was at this time that the woman clearly saw what he looked like: his slightly tanned skin, mid-length blue-black hair and stunning blue eyes were truly radiant. His dark red suit and cape matched him completely and, as far as she could tell, he was lean but slightly muscular. Everything about him made him appear luminous, almost like an angel. At last, she finally spoke:

"D-Do you live around here?" she softly said.

"Yes. Just a few houses down," he replied, politely extending his hand. "Allow me to take you to my home. At least you'll have somewhere to stay."

_I can't believe it!_ she thought as she tenderly put her hand in his. _God has blessed me after all. It seems I've worried over nothing._ The stranger gave a gentle smile as he brushed his lips on the top of her left hand. He turned around and lead her towards a dark alley. As they were walkign through, she wondered if she had made the right decision after all.

"Why are we going this way?" she asked timidly.

Rather than answer her, he stopped dead in his tracks. Without warning, he pressed her up against a cold brick wall. She groaned in pain as she felt his weight press against her. Tears began to fill her eyes as she silently prayed to God for help; at that same instant, her eyes widened in surprise when his lips were enveloping hers. The kiss lasted only a moment, and as he pulled away, they stared into each other's eyes. Her face, regardless of the cold wind, was flushed with heat.

"I've never met a woman like you in my life," he said with a hint of lust in his voice. "Please let me taste your sweetness again, m'lady."

That familiar smile of his seemed to never leave his face.

_Enjoy these precious moments,_ he thought. _Soon they will be your last and you shall forever be a part of me._

The last thing she would remember before her world turned dark would be his soft lips pressed upon the warmth of her neck.

She sighed as she went through the house shutting the windows. This evening it was her turn to make sure everything was closed up for the night, all thanks to her so-called friends.

_My first day on the job and I get stuck doing all the work!_ she angrily thought. She would have continued in her mental ranting had it not been for one of the maids.

"Kiki! The Master wishes to see you," the brown-haired maid said.  
"Oh. Where's his room?" Kiki replied.  
"You're standing right in front of it." With that, the brown-haired woman turned away with a smirk.

Kiki turned slightly and studied the door; it was obvious that whoever owned this place had, at the very least, a small fortune - or just enough to buy a fancy door. It had solid gold trim and was painted a mysterious silver color. As she slowly knocked on the door and waited, Kiki thought it looked like the color of a full moon. Her thoughts were interupted by a soft voice coming from inside of the room.

"Yes?" the male voice said. Kiki cleared her throat as quietly as she could before she answered.

"I was told that you wanted to see me, sir."  
"Oh, of course. Please come inside."

Kiki was immediately tranfixed on his room the moment she stepped inside. It felt so magical to her: there was a window open which led to a small balcony where the full moon reigned in its celestial kingdom. The same moonlight-colored paint that was used on the door had been used in the room, with touches of lilac along the wall borders. At this point, she thought nothing could surprise her - that quickly changed when she saw the young man sitting on the edge of his bed, covered in dark purple silk bed sheets. His hair was pure silver while his eyes and his skin glowed in the evening light. He wore a white jacket with the sleeves silghtly rolled up, a pair of silver rimmed glasses, a violet shirt with a star or a cross of some sort around his neck, white jeans, and faded brown shoes. He was also slightly muscular but not too much; it was as if the gods had placed her in this room with her future husband.

_This is the Master of this place!?_ Kiki thought, still in shock.

"Good evening," he said as he stood up with a slight bow. "My name is Sasame. You are - "  
"K - Kiki, sir," she answered, blushing out of her own shyness. Sasame laughed softly as he took Kiki's left hand and brushed his lips upon the back of it.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Kiki. Please sit down." He motioned towards his bed, making Kiki's face become redder, if that was indeed possible. Kiki sat down, her sky-blue eyes never leaving his as the Master sat down as well. He leaned in closer until he was mere inches from her face.

"Er... Why did you call me in here?" Kiki managed to mutter. Sasame continued to smile lovingly.

"I simply wanted to get to know you, that's all," he replied. "Don't worry: it's not like we're sleeping together or anything."  
"Then why are you this close to me?"  
"Because you look beautiful, Miss Kiki."

Kiki continued to blush; she didn't know what to do. She couldn't do anything except continue to be hypnotized by this good-looking man, who looked to be no older than twenty-three if she were to guess his age. Sasame placed a light kiss on her cheek as Kiki sighed deeply (whether it was out of pleasure or nervousness, she did not know). She could feel his hot breath traveling down her neck and spine, which made her shiver. At this point, Sasame took off his glasses, placed them on the night stand next to his bed, and watched Kiki's reaction as he laughed softly to himself.

_Poor girl_, he thought. _It's obvious no man has ever treated her like this._ Sasame could hear himself groan in anticipation of what was to come. He didn't want to hurt or kill anyone unless it was absolutely necessary, but he hadn't fed in nearly four days. Sighing, he leaned forward and tenderly put his lips on the pounding jugular in Kiki's neck. Tonight - if for one moment - Sasame would be free of his damnation.

Himeno Awayuki yawned loudly as they finally pulled up to the silver townhome - _her_ new townhome, she corrected herself. It had taken her nearly three years - or rather an eternity - but she had saved up enough money to buy her home. The brown-eyed, pink haired woman smiled proudly as she stepped out of the car; her red sleeveless dress was illuminated by the night sky as well as the lamp posts surrounding it. From what she was told, this was supposed to be a safe neighborhood, but it didn't look like it. Right behind her home was a bar or tavern of some kind. She had considered that it might be a problem later on, but she was too tired right now to deal with it. The only thing she wanted was sleep: after all, she had traveled all day from her small farm in the countryside to look at the house then move in.

_At least I'll finally get the chance to rest!_ Himeno thought as she unlocked the mohogany door and went inside.

A few minutes later, Himeno was wearing a white silk nightgown her mother had given to her before she died. It was supposed to be a wedding present, but her dream wedding quickly fell apart when her fiance left her for another woman. Deciding to move away from her pain seemed to be the best thing for her, especially since her family was breathing down her neck everyday to move on and find another man.

"Dammit!" she cried as she got into the bed and snuggled a bit under the covers. "I didn't come here to find love. I came here to start over and...take a break..."  
Himeno never got to finish her tirade, for she quickly fell into a deep sleep. All the while, a shadow was watching over her; its hair was blowing softly in the breeze as a sly smile crept across his face.

_Welcome, innocent soul. You shall soon belong to me._

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**Author's Notes:** I know that Hayate isn't supposed to be 'evil', but I still haven't decided how to go along with this. Still, I'm surprised at how long it took me to write this considering that I have other fics to work on. It's been in my mind for a while now - by the way, those of you who are wondering if I'm going to make this a lemon or not, I don't know myself. As to who Himeno will choose, you'll find out sooner or later

Anyway, please read & review! Any positive critiques will be appreciated. 


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